High Heels(Tacones lejanos)

Empire by

We get a mother-daughter murder melodrama even more farfetched than the Joan Crawford classic, Mildred Pierce, on which this would appear to be loosely based.

Chicago Tribune by Dave Kehr

It's an admirable attempt, though a less than completely successful one. The film's disappointments lie not so much in Almodovar's controlled, respectful direction as in the strange gaps and displacements of his screenplay, which never seems to supply the scenes we most want to see. [20 Dec 1991]

Christian Science Monitor by David Sterritt

The story is stylishly filmed and acted with high spirits, but there's not much going on in many of its colorful shots.

Washington Post by Hal Hinson

It feels more like a prosaic knockoff than a classically inspired original.

The New York Times by Janet Maslin

High Heels has no real mirth and not even enough energy to keep it lively.

Boston Globe by Jay Carr

Mostly it's Paredes' imperious - then surprisingly generous - high-handedness that carries High Heels. [20 Dec 1991]

Chicago Reader by Jonathan Rosenbaum

Those who miss the wildness of his premainstream work will probably be only partially appeased.

Austin Chronicle by Marc Savlov

High Heels becomes mired in its own best intentions - primary colors and all.

Chicago Sun-Times by Roger Ebert

An Almodovar film is always an exercise in style, but High Heels also generates narrative energy and mystery, and provides what was, for me, a genuine surprise at the end.